Monday, February 20, 2006

Worn Gilded Edges

Please pray for a gentleman named John who is recovering after falling down some stairs yesterday. God bless you.

Today (20/02) is the first anniversary of that memorable class in which I was first taught to use the Missal properly, and so marks one year of fluent attendance at the Classical Liturgy. One year full of days of falling ever more deeply in love with the Mass of the Ages. One year of ribbon-flicking fun! Goodness. Deo gratias.

This time last year it was already the second Sunday of Lent!

Father gave a brief talk about the theology and the history of the liturgy of Vespers, preceding their recitation yesterday afternoon. How fitting! Jude most kindly marked up my Diurnal for me - he mentioned that it was somewhat similar to marking the Missal - and then things began to make much more sense! I have made some resolutions that I intend to keep with the grace of God, and I pray that at this time next year, my Diurnal will look as well worn with use as my Missal. My heart is fluttering already! The only problem is that my mind and my voice don't co-operate when I read chant. I have to learn the tones by ear. Once I know the tones by heart, I can follow the notation. Or rather, is it a case of the notation confirming the tone? I think it is the latter!

God bless you, Mary. A Diurnal is like a breviary, containing in it the prayers for the Divine Office - or the 'Liturgy of the Hours' - the prayer of the Church. The one I have is Benedictine, so it is slightly different to the Roman edition. It is published by St Michael's Abbey Press, and is the edition typical to 1962 - just like the Missal :)